The Harding football team was awarded the NCAA Sportsmanship Award because of their response to Henderson State football player Robert Jordan’s injury during the Oct. 26, 2013, football game at First Security Stadium. During the game, Jordan broke his leg in what head coach Ronnie Huckeba referred to as a “devastating injury.”
According to Scott Goode, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information, while on the field, Henderson State’s quarterback Kevin Rogers and several Harding players decided they needed to pray for Jordan, and both teams circled around the injured player and prayed over him.
Greg Harnden, Athletic Director, said the NCAA gives out a team sportsmanship award to any Division I and Division II school. Soon after the game, Goode received notice from the NCAA about the sportsmanship award, and he sent in the nomination on Dec. 9.
“Once I sent it in, I wasn’t sure (we would win),” Goode said. “So it was a pleasant surprise at the end of this month to receive that honor.” The day before the official release, Goode said he received calls from the NCAA asking for pictures of the event and the trip to the hospital. After the NCAA announced the winner on their Twitter and Facebook accounts they sent out a press release listing the winners. According to Harnden, the NCAA also awarded two individual sportsmanship awards to a Division I player and a Division II player.
Goode said Philip Mion, a senior on the 2013 Harding football team, was instrumental in the organization of visiting Jordan. Mion and Jordan were both from Miami, and Mion knew that Jordan most likely didn’t have many family members in the area at the time of the injury.
“Our players, a bunch of them were up in the room, checking on him, being with him,” Harnden said. “We had students from our student body, who were not football players, go check on him. We had students the next day, taking things to him, cards, letting him know we were praying for him and thinking of him.”
The Bisons ended up losing the game against Henderson State, but according to Harnden, that’s what made the situation unique.
“I think it’s real easy to be good sports when you win the game,” Harnden said. “You know, you’re so sorry that something happened or whatever, but I mean we lost the game, and (the players) were still very concerned about him, and in this day and age, sometimes that can be a little unusual.”
Goode agreed that it certainly wasn’t your typical reaction after such a fierce conference rival, but felt that’s what made it so remarkable.
“It was a 15-point loss to a team that was the toughest team that we play all year, and we look forward to that game,” Goode said. “And you know it didn’t really matter that we had won or lost that game, those kids that did what they did for that Henderson State player that got hurt, they did it regardless of the outcome of the game. So that’s what made it pretty special.”
Harnden said that after being here for 28 years, he knows that’s what the Harding student body is all about.
“When they told us that we won the award, I was very happy and proud of our student body, especially our football team, (but) at the same time, I’m not shocked, but… you just think that everybody would react similar to that,” Harnden said. “But it was perceived as being great sportsmanship, and that’s what the NCAA took into consideration.”
Huckeba said he was surprised, but very pleased that the team was recognized with the award.
“It was just Harding students being Harding students,” Huckeba said. “I say that because that’s the culture here at this university… When people have a need, then we’re going to try our best to help them. That makes me prouder than anything, that I’m associated with a university where the students, regardless of the situation, are going to respond in a very unselfish way and reach out and try to help. I think that’s what we all love about being here.”
